


I Was Filled With Wonder

by goodkidreprise



Series: The Expanding Universe of Ashley Garcia [1]
Category: The Expanding Universe of Ashley Garcia (TV)
Genre: Anxiety, Bisexual Ashley Garcia, Demigirl Brooke Bishop, Eventual Romance, F/M, Fix-It, Fix-It of Sorts, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Growing Up, High School, Light Angst, Missing Scene, Nonbinary Stick Goldstein, Not Beta Read, Pansexual Stick Goldstein, Rewrite, because i needed to change some things, sticks name
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-30
Updated: 2020-08-30
Packaged: 2021-03-06 06:34:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,928
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25618930
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/goodkidreprise/pseuds/goodkidreprise
Summary: Ashley is a genius, she started college at nine years old and now works at JPL. As a fifteen year old she's the youngest person ever to earn a PhD. Now working at JPL, she decided to move in with her Uncle, who coaches a High School football team. Reconnecting with her old friend and finding new ones can't be that easy, especially if you throw a cute boy into the mix.(title is a song lyric from "wild blue yonder" by the amazing devil)
Relationships: Ashley Garcia & Victor Garcia, Brooke Bishop & Ashley Garcia, Brooke Bishop/Stick Goldstein, Tad Cameron & Stick Goldstein, Tad Cameron/Ashley Garcia
Series: The Expanding Universe of Ashley Garcia [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1859341
Kudos: 5





	I Was Filled With Wonder

**Author's Note:**

> hello! i decided to write this bc of my headcanon for stick (and bc im really curious what his actual name is because???? stick is a weird nickname but okay dhhjjs) and because some things were just,,,,,, ehhh and i wanted to try to write them a bit better, i hope i do the show and your expectations justice :D this work is just gonna be part one though

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ashley's journey begins as she settles in with Tío Victor in her old hometown, reconnects with an old friend and tries to challenge the romance game - for better or worse.

Ashley was in her small, but cozy bedroom, where she was supposed to pack her suitcase. Before she finished packing for her big trip, she wanted to make a video. So she sat down at her desk, starting up her computer. She then turned on her webcam and started recording. The computer chimed and Ashley began talking, although she was nervous.

"Hi, I'm Ashley Garcia and even though my mom _hates_ all social media, I've decided to post my first video! I'm through obeying every rule she decrees. I'm not scared of her or these rules anymore," Ashley said with confidence, but it was interrupted my her mom yelling her name.

"Ashley, who are you talking to?" she asked and because Ashley didn't want her mom to see what she was doing after coming upstairs, she quickly responded.

"No one, Mom! I'm just... packing out loud!"

Ashley quickly got up from her chair and went to her bedroom door to lock it. She continued talking while she did. "Socks, pants... and dead bolt." The latter being said in a hushed voice.

She quickly sat down again and continued talking. "Some stuff about me. I'm the youngest person ever to ear a PhD and I just got a job at JPL in California, where I'm going to make robots for NASA!" She had a bright smile on her face and her voice was full of excitement.

"My Mom is one year away from tenure at Wellesley and by some miracle, she agreed to let me stay with my Uncle Victor in Pasadena." She chuckled lightly, remembering how fun her Uncle was and how much she missed him. She hadn't seen him very often these past few years. "My mom and I lived in Pasadena until I went away to college... at nine." She then said. Ashley grabbed her phone and turned it on.

"I also made a bucket list of things I want to do once I'm finally out from under her wing." She cleared her throat and started to read the goal she wanted to accomplish the most.

"Number One: Go to Mars! It'll be the next great leap fro humanity, so why shouldn't I be allowed to do it? And I won't need my mom's permission to wear lipgloss!" She smiled and continued with the next thing on her list. "Number Two: Order a Daddio's pizza." She lowered her phone and started to explain why.

"I'm not allowed to eat there anymore because my mom found a typo on the menu. She then proceeded to send a series of angry e-mails, which they responded to 'You're blocked'. When I asked her to still let me order pizza there, she said 'Never. La familia es todo'." Ashley mocked her mom's voice, clearly annoyed that she couldn't enjoy the pizza place because of a simple typo.

She continued with her list. "Number Three: Fnd the meaning of life! ...My mom says its to get good grades and make a lot of money, but I disagree. That can't be all there is to enjoy about life, right? There's gotta be more."

Ashley then turned around to her suitcase and saw two bathing suits. "Oh, and my Uncle's got a pool!" She stood up to grab both of them and held one in front of the camera. The bathing suit didn't look like something a fifteen-year old would wear, it was very pink and had two very cartoonish looking unicorns printed on it. "Should I pack the one my mom picked?" She asked, not wanting to be seen in that suit. "Oooooor should I pack the one my mom doesn't know about?" Ashley then showed the camera the bikini she would rather wear. It was clearly an easy choice for her, as she then placed it on top of her opened suitcase.

"This'll be our little secret." Ashley said as she leaned on her chair. "I love my mom, but I just... need a little space." She flinched as she heard her mom knock on her door. "Ashley!" Her mom started. "Are you all packed? You're gonna miss your flight!" She rolled her eyes. "Almost done!" She paused and sighed. "I can't post this. If she sees it I'm dead."

Ashley sat down in her chair again and stopped recording and proceeded to delete the video footage. "See you in California." She said happily. Then her smile dropped as she talked again. "I'm talking to _no one_."

°

Victor Garcia sat on his brown couch, pouring himself and a very beautiful woman a glass of wine. Said woman smiled at him sweetly. "I don't usually go back to a man's place on the first date."

Victor turned on the slow-tempo music and the digital fireplace with his phone and responded slyly. "Yeah. This is new for me, too." Before they could kiss and do other things, the doorbell rang. Victor stood up, putting his drink down on the table next to them. "Hold my place." He started, making them both laugh a little. "I just have to blow up whoever that is." he walked to his front door, just to find a smiling Ashley. "Tío Victor!" She exclaimed.

"Ashley?" He questioned, sounding very surprised. "What are you doing here?"

Ashley looked a little confused as to why her Uncle wouldn't know why she was there. "Uhh, I'm moving in? Like we planned?" She said, carefully rolling her suitcase through the front door.

Her Uncle backed up. "No, no, no, no, no, you're not here until Monday."

"No, Monday is when my job at JPL starts. I shared my Google Calendar with you." Victor, still clearly surprised just pointed at her. "Yes. Yes, you did."

He almost forgot the woman he was with, but she wouldn't let that happen, because she walked up to both of them. "Introduce me, Victor!"

He looked slightly uncomfortable with that, but still put his arm around Ashley. "Right. This is my niece, Ashley. Asley, this is..." he paused, thinking about her name. It was very awkward until the woman responded, very annoyed. "You forgot my name?!" Victor laughed uncomfortably. "I do know our name, it's..."

Both women looked at him with high expectations, but he couldn't bring himself to remember. "It's... Just... Give me the first letter?"

The woman gasped, grabbed her things and left quickly. "She couldn't stay." Victor said, chuckling a bit, but Ashley wasn't having it. "But I'm very glad you're here!" He said and hugged his niece.

He took her suitcase, walked away from the door and (hopefully) that awkward encounter. "Let's grab you something to drink." He said enthusiastically. He put her suitcase down near the couch and grabbed the wine glasses that were definitely not meant for a fifteen-year old. "Tell me about your new job!"

"Weeell." Ashley started. "It combines two of my biggest dreams, space exploration and being 3,000 miles away from my mother." She said, while both of them walked into the kitchen.

"Ashley." Victor said in a scolding tone. "That's your mother you're talking about." She looked down, a little embarrassed, but her Uncle continued. "I totally get how you feel." Both of them laughed in response.

"You know, your mom used to say I was the spoiled baby of the family, that I would never grow up, but HAH! Look at me now." He laughed again. "Raising a teenager, being responsible. Oh, I've been waiting to do this my whole life." He smiled but Ashley was a little confused.

"Be... a parent?" She asked, but her Uncle quickly responded. "No. prove your mother wrong." And Ashley could relate to that. This whole experiment, living with her Uncle, was to prove her mom wrong. Victor turned around to putthe wine glasses in the sink.

"And all I want is the freedom to try new things." She went to open the fridge as her Uncle answered. "Well, life's an adventure. Whatever you wanna try, I will support-" He wa sinterrupted by Ashley grabbing a beer out of his alcohol filled fridge. "Put that beer down!" He yelled.

"It's all you have in the fridge!" She answered immediately.

"There's lemonade!"

So Ashley grabbed the lemonade, but Victor noticed that the lemonade was another alcoholic drink.

"Bob's Hard Lemonade." Ashley read from the label and Victor squealed. " _Don't_ drink that!" He took the drink out of Ashley's hands and put it back in the fridge before she could drink anything. "I think starting with the kitchen may have been a bad idea." Victor said, but Ashley already had another idea. "Can I see my room?"

Victor nodded, so they walked out of the kitchen, through the living room and towards another door. "Here it is."

He opened the door. Ashley walked in, expecting a room with at least a bed and a wardrobe, but all she could see was training equipment. "Now I have no excuse not to work out!" Her Uncle chuckled, looking at his phone and indeed, he got her Google Calendar. "Ash, I got you Calendar. You _are_ coming tonight!"

°

The next morning, Ashley woke up on her Uncle's couch, seeing an unfamiliar face staring down at her. It was a boy her age wearing a letterman jacket. She felt creeped out, so she slapped him and he backed away. He, and three other boys, groaned in pain as Ashley got up.

"What are you doing here?" She exclaimed, rightfully weirded out as to why they were at her Uncle's house. "We're on the football team, Coach lets us use the pool!" The boy she slapped said, still holding his face in pain. "I think you broke my brain." He continued. "And my family has a really high deductible."

Ashley sighed. "It's just a little trauma to your tympanic membrane."

The boy looked confused. "Tympanic... membrane?" He repeated, but then realized who she was.

"Oh, so you're Coach's genius niece!"

Ashley still laid under her blanket and definitely wanted to slap him again. "Great chat." She responded sarcastically. "Hand me my robe."

So he grabbed her robe that was on the couch chair next to him and then Victor came down the stairs. "What's going on?!" He exclaimed.

"Tío Victor, I'm not dressed."

Victor gasped. "Everybody out! My niece is naked!" The guy she slapped put the robe down again and they started to go to the pool outside, but Ashley interrupted. "I'm not naked! I'm just... in my pajamas!"

Victor sighed with relief. "Then what's the big deal? Everybody stay!" So they walked back into the living room.

"These are the pajamas you got me for my birthday?" Ashley added passive agressively. Victor smiled. "The fuzzy ones? Ugh, cutest jammies _ever_! You know, there's this tail."

The four football team members smiled as wel, clearly agreeing that they must be cute. Ashley just sighed in disappointment. "Tío, I don't wanna meet anyone wearing these!"

Victor nodded. "Got it. Everybody, turn around!" They responded with a "yes, sir!" and obeyed their Coach's order, while he grabbed his niece'S robe, gave it to her and turned around as well. Ashley got off the couch and she had to figure out which way the robe was twisted before putting it on, so she didn't notice another football player walking in. "Sorry I'm late."

She flinched and hugged the robe, not wanting to be seen. "Turn around!" Her Uncle yelled and he did, now facing Victor again. He sighed defeated. "Halfway." The new guy did, putting up his hands defensively. "Sorry, I wasn't here for the rules."

A few seconds later, Ashley let them know she was done. and Victor turned around first. "Everyone, at ease." And so, the others turned around, too.

"Tad, Stick, Cash, Kesler, Bernie, this is Ashley, I don't have to tell you to be gentlemen." Victor said, as he put his arm around Ashley, trying to make her feel more comfortable.

"Let's, uh, start over, shall we? Stick Goldstein, equipment manager." The person named 'Stick' said, he tried to be confident, but failed miserabely in Ashley's eyes. She then looked behind him and saw Tad and fell in love with his smile. She continued to stare at him while a harp played, but only for a few seconds before she noticed that it was her phone ringing. She quickly grabbed it and gasped. "My mom's FaceTiming me."

"Move it." Victor told the boys. "No one in front of her phone."

The Garcias sat down on the couch and Ashley accepted the call, saying "Hey, mom." at the same time her Uncle said "Hey, Santina."

"How was your first night at Tío Victor's?" She asked, not noticing the couch was covered in bed sheets. "It was great, he's a wonderful host." Ashley said, while she playfully shoved her Uncle. That made her mom notice that the couch was a makeshift bed. "Are those sheets on the couch?" She paused, before adressing the elephant in the room. "Victor, did you forget to buy your niece a bed?"

The silence after that didn't last long, because Victos answered something he probably shouldn't be too proud of. "I gave her my only pillow! I'm basically a dad!"

Santina sighed. "What was I thinking agreeing to this?"

Victor tried to defend himself further, which backfired. "Hey, there is a perfectly good reason to why Ashley doesn't have a bed."

After not getting an explanation, Santina responded. "I'm waiting."

Victor smiled awkwardly. "I forgot she was coming." He muttered.

The football players looked at each other, finding it irresponsible of their Coach, but they didn't want to say anything and Ashley facepalmed.

"Ugh, Papi was right." Santina started and continued in Spanish. "Eres muchacho, no eres hombre."

Victor looked over to his team, having noticed that they stared at them. The team quickly looked away from them and around the room awkwardly. Santina continued. "I'm getting on the next plane and I'm taking Ashley home!"

"Santina, please." Victor begged with his sister. "I know I messed up, let me prove to you I can change." Ashley also chimed in. "Please, mom, it's my dream to wokr at JPL."

Santina was silent for a bit and then sighed. "Fine, you guys get a week." Victor and Ashley looked at each other and both of them held back smirks. "But, you give me one reason not to trust you and Ashley comes home immediately!" They nodded, but Santina wasn't finished scholding them, or rather her brother. "And geta second pillow for god's sake!"

Ashley didn't hold back her smile anymore. "Thanks, mom!"

"You won't be sorry. I promise, no more surpises." Victor said, but then Tad sneezed. Santina obviously was suspicious, she didn't see anyone sneeze. "What was that?"

Not wanting to screw things up, Ashley responded quikcly. "I didn't hear anything!" And Victor added a quick, "Bye, sis," before she hung up.

Then she tood up and grabbed her glasses from the table. "Uhm, it was nice to meet you all, but it's time for me to put on some real clothes."

"Everybody turn around!" Tad then yelled, but Ashley only smiled. "I mean, in my own room, but thank you. That was very gallant."

He smiled back. "Thank you for thinking I'd know what gallant means." So Ashley walked to her room and TAd stared at her as she walked away. Stick elbowed him and looked down. "Huh?" Tad questioned and Stick, while still looking dow, only said two words. "Coach's niece." Tad looked at Victor, only to see that he wasn't amused with him staring at his niece. "Heeeey Coach."

°

Ashley walked into a coffee shop called Pats, owned by her Uncle and his friend, NIco. She looked around filled with wonder and saw a picture of her Uncle and Nico in their football jerseys. Her Uncle wore the Number 2 and Nico Number 27. She walked a few steps further and heard the employee's door open, only to see a familiar face.

"Ashley? Hey, oh my god!" That person said, who she immediately recognized as Nico. They both laugh in surprise and hug each other.

"Wow, it's been, like, six years, right?" He asked getting a good look at a more grown-up Ashley. "Oh, you've changed so much."

"Nico! You haven't changed at all!" They both smiled. "Well, it is kinda my thing." he laughed. "But, I heard your Tío Victor forgot you were showing up, huh? Well, it's gonna be tough getting used to living with a kid."

A little hurt, Ashley responded. "He'll get used to it."

Nico grabbed her hand to reassure her. "Actually, I was talking about you." That made her laugh. They hugged again and Nico got back to work. Ashley then walked towards an empty table, but before she reached it, a girl was walking in her direction. Ashley recognized her immediately, it was her old childhood friend, Brooke Bishop, pretty as ever.

"Ashley?" Said girl asked.

"Brooke?"

They both shout in excitement and hug, excited to see each other again.

"I can't believe it's you!" Brooke said, as they sat down at the table. "Live long and prosper." Ashley responded, making it very clear to Brooke her oldest friend was back in Pasadena.

"It's you, all right. I'm so glad you texted me, Ash. I'm so sorry I didn't keep in touch as often a I should've."

Ashley only smiled. "I get it, we both got super busy two years ago. I was getting a PhD and inventing autonomous robots to explore deep space."

"And I was too tired to text you after coming home from make out parties." Brooke responded, now realising her reason was a shitty one.

"Good old make out parties." Ashley said awkwardly, not knowing anything about those. She made it even weirder when she continued. "I like to send my tongue in and shake it around."

Ashley then grabbed a pen out of her jacket, ready to write on a napkin. "What do you like to do? Be specific."

Brooke smirked. "You can tell me if you've never kissed anyone, Ash. I totally won't judge."

"I would if I hadn't, but I have, so tell me how _you_ do it." Ashley said a little defensively.

"Come on, girl. I said no judgement, right?" Brooke put her hand on her friend's arm, which made Ashley feel a little warm inside.

"Fine, you caught me. I went to college at nine and definitely missed a lot and now I'm afraid it's too late to catch up, you know?"

"Not true!" Brooke exclaimed. "Ash, I'm an Instagram lifestyle and make up influencer with 2,000 followers. You could be my before and after project, not that you aren't pretty now, but it would end with your first kiss!"

Ashley sighed. "I don't know, I mean, I don't even have the slightest idea who I'd even kiss." At that moment, Tad and some other football players she had seen at her house walked in. "Hey, Brooke, hey, Ashley." Tad said and Ashley immediately smiled lovestruck. "There might be one boy I can think of."

As they sat down on the couch near the girls' table, Brooke started talking. "Tad Cameron? He's the Captain of the football team. How he did it, though, I have no idea."

"Yes, I know that increases the likelihood of getting early dementia, but I'm willing to overlook that." Ashley said smiling and looked over at Tad.

"I want to help you, Ash, but Tad CAmeron? You have to promise me you'll set your sight on some realistic lips and forget about Tad." Brooke said as she saw Stick walk in.

"What do you mean 'realistic'?" Ashley asked, just as Stick walked past them and took his imaginary hat off to them. "Hello, ladies."

Brooke continued talking as Stick sat down with the other guys. " _That's_ realistic. I'm gonna start talking you up to Stick right now." Brooke wanted to stand up and walk over to them, but Ashley stopped her. "Wait, no. I mean, thanks, but I'm gonna be too busy at work to kiss anyone."

Brooke smirked at her friend. "Okay, but just so you know, there's no actual 'tongue shaking' involved."

"Noted." Ashley said and wrote it down on a napkin. They turned their attention away from the boys and took out their phones, Brooke was probably checking her Instagram and Ashley opened her bucket list. She now had four things she wanted to do, go to Mars, order Daddio's pizza, find the meaning of life and kiss a boy, which she then changed to 'kiss Tad' and put it on the top of her list.

°

Victor walked into his kitchen and saw Ashley sitting at the counter in front of her breakfast.

"First day at JPL!" Her Uncle exclaimed. "You nervous?"

"I'm just building robots, working on the Mars rover. It's like... MIT, except with billions of dollars at stake." She shrugged.

Victor opened the fridge. "Cool, calm, collected. Such a gangsta."

"I am a gangsta!" Ashley said smirking. "And we need oat milk." Victor nodded. "Oh, hey, Ash,before I forget, I need a favor. If Tad doesn't pass his algebra test, he can't play on Friday. Can you tutor him after work?"

Ashley spits out her breakfast. "Nevermind, it's your first day at work, it'd be too much to ask of you. I'll ask Stick, or something."

"No!" Ashley yelled and quickly stood up from her chair. "I'll do it!" Victor was surprised. "Wow, I've never seen anyone so excited to tutor someone before." "Excited? I'm _not_ excited. You're my uncle! I would do anything for you, Tío." She paused for a second. "Soooooo... Which one is Tad again?"

°

"I don't regret it, but taking care of a teenage girl is a _lot_ of responsibility. I mean, as a Coach I always know what to say to the kids, but as a parental figure? What happens if I can't find the right words? What if I'm doing it all wrong? The constant doubt, the second guessing." Victor's voice cracked. "Is this how it's going to be from now on?"

He looked over at the Shluffy's employee he was talking to and the guy didn't look amused. They were at a mattress shop, not a therapy session. "We've gotta stop here." Victor sighed as the guy continued talking. "That is the 20th mattress I've shown you. Holler when you find the perfect one for your niece, okay? I'll be with my other customers before they die of old age." And with that, the guy walked away, gesturing to his colleague that he was their problem now. In the meantime, Victor tried out another mattress, this time trying not to confess his thoughts to another person.

The woman assigned to him by her surperior walked over to him and began speaking. "Do I know you?" She asked. Victor straightnened his posture. "Is that a pickup line? Because if it is, I'm okay with that." They both laughed. "So, see anything you like?"

Victor smirked, and the woman realized what that could've meant and so she laughed a bit.

°

Back at Pats, Ashley found Brooke getting her coffee, so she walked up to her friend. "Listen, I've been thinking about your offer. There's more to life than just work and maaaybe I could use a pointer here and there." Ashley started and Brooke smirked knowingly.

"You totally met a guy."

Ashley gasped. "Noooo! I just wanna be ready. I know _nothing_ about boys and you know everything. Please, Brooke?" They were walking towards the couch. "Be my Yoda." Ashley added.

Brooke turned to her friend. "I hope you're calling me Yoda because I'm wise and not because my skin is wrinkly." They sat down as she continued. "Okay. Let's see what I'm working with."

Ashley took a sip of her coffee. "I'm ready, Yoda." Brooke chuckled. "Okay. You're alone with a guy, the conversation starts to slow down and he takes a breath mint. What does that mean?"

"Oooh, I know this one. He wants something sweet, but he's on a diet, so the breath mint is a perfect low-caloric alternative! Boom!" Ashley looked very confident about her answer, but Brooke shook her head. "It just means he wants to kiss you."

Ashley chuckled awkwardly. "My answer makes sense, too."

"A breath mint is for kissing, you wanna learn this stuff or not?" Brooke questioned, her tone getting more serious. "I do, I really do. Please go on."

"Okay, I'll lend you a little something." Brooke said as she grabbed her bag and pulled out something large. "" This is my make-up kit." She opened it and continued to speak. "It's my travel one, so these are just the essentials. Eyes, cheekbones, lips, highlights, contour, daytime and evening!" She gestured to each compartment. "Do you need me to slow down? Can you keep up?"

Ashley chuckled and repeated what Brooke just told and showed her. "Ooooh!" Brooke exclaimed excitedly. "Playa's got potential! But, don't get too cocky, young Padawan. There's still much more to learn if you wanna be ready."

Before they could continue, though, Tad came out of the bathroom and walked towards them. "Hey Brooke."

"Tad."

"Oh, hey Ashley, I'll see you in a bit!". Tad said while having a dorky smile on his face and he walked away. "Uh, okay, bye."

Brooke looked at her friend and Ashley scoffed, awkwardly shifting in her seat.

"Ash! I've told you to stay away from Tad!" She said, disappointed.

"I'm just tutoring him, Brooke."

"But you wanna shake tongues with him!" Brooke answered angrily and Ashley sighed. "I do, I really do."

"This is a bad idea. Tad has had a lot of girlfriends. He's probably had more make up rub off on him than you've ever put on." Brooke hoped that this might convice Ashley, but she didn't let it go so easily.

"So what? I don't understand."

"Yoda wouldn't let Luke fight Darth Vader with one day's training. I'm sorry, but I can't help you with this, Ash." Brooke stood up and grabbed her bag, ready to walk away. "Fine, don't help! I taught myself orbital theory when I was six, I think I can handle eyebrow pencils." Ashley said, having grabbed something that she thought was one.

"The red one is lip liner, Ash." And then, Brooke was gone, only leaving her makeup kit and an upset Ashley behind.

A little later, she looked into Brooke's mirror, having tried on some makeup. It definitely didn't look as good as she had hoped. Her eyeshadow was a dark blue, her lips a smeared red and her cheeks looked like she got slapped. Maybe she should've listened to Brooke.

°

Back at Victor's she walked in, trying not to be seen, but her Uncle immediately came up to her. "Oh, good timing, Ash. Looks like tomorrow you might just have a comfortable bed! Sorry it took so long."

But as Ashley turned around to face him, Victor saw her face and shrieked. "What happened? I meeeaaan... You look great."

"I was experimenting.Turns out, I'm not a genius at evrrything." She sat down on the couch and looked down.

"What's going on here? Did this have anything to do with your first day at work?" Victor asked concerned.

"Tío, have you ever wanted something so much, you convince yourself you might actually get it? But then someone tells you you're not ready at all and you realize they might be right?"

"Did you get to work on the Mars rover today?" Victor asked.

"I... did. Why?" Victor nodded. "Hmm, I see what happened." He sat down next to her. "Someone saw you commanding it and said 'Hey, kid, you can't do this.' Am I right?"

Ashley looked confused, but realized it probably wasn't such a good idea to tell him she had a crush on one of his players. "That's... exactly what I'm talking about."

"Ash, there>'s always people who'rre gonna tell you that you can't do something. Example: 2010, we're playing at the Meadowlands. Fourth down on the Giants' 48. I tell our Coach, 'Hey, I can kick that field goal.' Sixty-five yards, a new record." Victor was really getting into the story now, he always loved talking about football.

"Everyone says 'No way. Kicking into the wind at sea level? Never gonna happen, Garcia.'" Victor now stood up and snapped his fingers. "But, a voice inside tells me, 'Vic, you can do this. This can be your ticket to Canton.'"

"You made the field goal?" Ashley asked.

"I got blocked. Returned for a touchdown. Our entire season fell apart after that." Now he sounded really depressed and Ashley was confused as to why he was telling her that particular story.

"Why are you telling me this?"

Victor sighed frustrated. "I don't know! That was a bad story. I guess... The point is... If you're gonna give a pep talk, do _not_ wing it!"

°

Ashley was in Tad's living room with an opened math textbook and explaining the math problem.

"So, the absolute value of x is three, not minus three, because the absolute value is never negative! Boom!" Tad exclaimed, happy that he learned something, so he wrote it down. "Who's the PhD now?"

"Still me! But you've picked that up really fast. You're pretty smart, Tad." Ashley said and msiled at him.

He laughed. "Wow, I've been called a lot in this house, but never smart."

"Like what?"

"Let's see..." Tad paused. "There's dolt, nitwit, drooler, knucklehead, dunderhead..." He wanted to go on, but Ashley interrupted him. "What is all that?"

"Nicknames my dad has for me!" He said with a smile and continued. "There's also pudding-head, window-licker..."

"That's awful." Ashley said, not wanting to hear any more of these. "No, it's just his way of motivating me. See, I'll never get into a college on my grades, so 'It's either a full ride on a football scholarship or a short ride to the marine recruitmenbt office!'" Tad said and mocked his dad's voice.

"It's my dad's line. He's not just clever coming up with nicknames, you know."

"Tad, you've got more than just these two options! We can't let other people dictate what we can and can't do!" Ashley exclaimed upset.

"Wait... Someone told you, Ashley Garcia, the genius, that you can't do something?" Tad asked geniunely surprised.

Ashley responded. "It's happened."

"Well, whoever said that is clearly... a dunderhead." They both smiled. "You're sweet, Tad."

"I mean it!" He said. "I've never met anyone like you." Ashley, now crushing on Tad even more than before, replied the same. "Well, I've never met anyone like you, either."

Tad smiled and grabbed a box from the table and put a breath mint in his mouth, asking Ashley if she wanted one, too. "Breath mint?" She questioned, a little shocked because she remembered what Brooke told her - it meant Tad wanted to kiss her! But before she could respond, she heard her phone ring. It was her mom, but she couldn't let her interrupt this moment, so she declined the call. "Spam call." She laughed. "You were saying something about a breath mint?"

"Yep." Tad said. "For fresh breath!"

Ashley chuckled. "Of course. MInty, fresh breath!" She said ans grabbed one out of the tiny container they were in. After a few seconds, she swallowed it and leaned in to kiss Tad.

"Oh, no. No, no, no, no!" He exclaimed, clutching the breath mints and his pen and paper tightly to his chest and made a face like he was a toddler throwing a tantrum.

"But- BUt you took a breath mitn! Oh my god, I'm so embarrassed. I gotta go." Ashley said hectically, feeling very uncomfortable now. She grabbed her backpack as Tad tried to make the situation better.

"Ashley, it's not you." Tad said. "I have scouts coming to see me play and I've gotta stay focused."

"Right, focused. Good luck on your test!" She smiled awkwardly and quickly left his place.

°

Back at Victor's house, he was currently making out with the second Shluffy employee he had met that day.

"You bring a lot of people back here on first dates?" She asked him.

"Nope, just very helpful salespeople who offer to measure my room for a new bed." They both laughed.

"Well, then." She started. "We better get upstair and make sure everything fits."

Victor smirked and grabbed her hand to lead her up the stairs. "See, this is the kind of personal service you can't get on Amazon."

They quickly went upstairs, not noticing that Ashley got home. She pulle dhe rphone out of her pocket and called Daddio's Pizza.

"Daddio's Pizza." The employee on the phone said. "This is Ashley Garcia at 217 Glenmont. I ordered my pizza 46 minutes ago. If you cancelled my order, please know I am in no way related to Santina Garcia. I like typos on menus!" She laughed awkwardly. "It's on its way." The Person said unenthusiastically. 

"Thanks!" Ashley replied and ended the call. "Take that, mom!"

Victor came down the stairs to grab some wine, but then he noticed Ashley. He looked up the stairs and back at his niece, trying to decide if he should have fun with his guest or help Ashley out. Victor decided to be a good Uncle and talk with her.

"Hey, Ash, how was the study session?"

"Great. Tad'll do fine." Ashley said, not in a happy mood. "Okay, what's the matter? Did he try something with you?" He asked, feeling very protective of her. She sighed. "No! I wanted him to, but I'm gonna die unkissed." Ashley paused. "I'm an epic geek and I'll always be one."

"Ash, that's not true." Victor said.

"Then why else would he not want to kiss me?"

Victor winced, remembering what he told Tad. Mayb ethat wasn't his best idea.

_"My niece is coming to tutor you. Try anything with her and I'll tear your head off and kick it through the uprights."_

_Tad smiled and nodded. "Got it, Coach!"_

"We'll never know, so hey, let's move on." Victor said quickly, not wanting Ashley to know that he spoke to Tad. But, she was his family and very smart, so she caught on. "You didn't say anything to Tad, did you?" She questioned her Uncle. "Tad? Noooo! Wait... Which one's Tad?"

Ashley took a step back in anger. "I can't believe you, tío! What did you say to him? Did you threaten him?" She asked upset.

"Why are we bringing up the past?"

Ashley wanted to reply, but she noticed her phone ring again. She sighed and picked it up. "It's my mom." Victor tried to get away, but she replied. "We are not done here, tío Victor!"

She sighed and accepted the call. "Hey, mom."

"Why'd you decline my call earlier?"

"Did I?"

"You know the rules, Ashley. If you're hiding something-" Santina started to say, but was interrupted when she heard the doorbell ring. Victor quickl went to get the door and replied. "She's not hiding anything."

"But if you are, know I'm on the next plane out there."

Victor opened the door and wa met by a pizza delivery. "Daddio's Pizza!" They said full of enthusiasm. Victor and Ashley shared a quick, panicked look. "Ashley, did you order a Daddio's pizza?!"

She gasped. "No!" Victor took the pizza box. "We didn't order that!" He slammed the door shut, threw the pizza o the ground and kicked it behind him. He then walked over to Ashley so he could sit down next to her. "See, we're not hiding anything!" Ashley said, hopefully convincing her mom of it. "We're open books, so ask us anything, sis." Victor added.

"What's up with you two?" Santina asked wary of their behaviour. She was so sure they were hiding something from her (which they were, but she didn't have to know that). They both answered her at the same time. "Nothing."

Then, to make the situation even wirse, the very helpful saleslady Victor brought home yelled fro him. "Victor? Are you coming back upstairs?" His eyes widened. "Who was that?"

Victor replied impulsively. "Ghost!" Ashley looked at him dumbfounded. "Ghost?!" She whisper yelled. He looked to the side only to see the woman dressed in only his old jersey. He couldn't not scream at that. He quickly jumped up from the couch and guided her back upstairs.

"He just saw the ghost." Ashley chuckled awkwardly and leaned back into the couch. "Oh, Ashley. The rules were that we would all be honest with each other!" Santina scolded her. "I'm catching the next flight to L.A. to bring you home, so you might as well tell me everything you and Victor have been up to. It's time for the truth!" Santina said, but Ashley oticed something and squinted her eyes at the screen.

"Where are you, mom?" Santina, taken aback by that question, tried to answer in a monotone voice. "In Cambridge..."

"Then how come the shadows on your face are so short?" Ashley questioned. "The latitude and longitude of Cambridge is 42 dregrees north and 71 dregrees west and out here it's 34 degrees north. Even if we factor in the time difference, the shadows in Cambridge are twice the size of wherever ou're standing right now. The point is, mom, you're lying to me!"

"The point is, tío Victor has strange people over! And if the Daddio's Pizza deliveryperson went to the wrong adress, why did he leave the pizza at Victor's house?"

"Mom, are you outside?" Ashley asked as her Uncle came back down and went outside to look for his sister. "She's out there." Victor said. "Next to a rented Camry."

"Get in here, mom."

"Fine."

They ended the phone call and Ashley put her phoen away. She was now standing next to Victor. "Do you think your friend upstairs is presentable?" Ashley asked and her Uncle sighed. "For the first time in my life, I hope so."

Then Santina walked in. "So, time for the truth, mom."

"I did not see that longitude/latitude thing coming." She walked into the house further and Victor closed the door behind her. "And my abuelo told me my degree in sociology would be useless. But, that doesn't change the fact that this experiment is over!"

Ashley sighed. "Mom, part of giving me a chance to live here was to trust me! You said you would, but you didn't!"

"Yeah, you tell her, Ash!" Victor tried to hype her up, but she turned to her uncle and continued. "And you didn't either!" She said angrily. "Say whaaaaaat?"

"You are both controlling and dishonest." Ashley said and walked away from her mom and uncle. " _You_ were controlling?" Santina asked full of doubt. "I'm impressed."

Victor walked up to his niece, ignoring what his sister said and ready to apologize. "Ash, not trusting you was a big mistake. I hope you'll forgive me. I don't know what to say."

Ashley smiled. "Thank you. Your apology said it all." Victor also smiled and hugged her. "It says nothing! What happened?" Santina exclaimed confused.

"What happened was tío Victor just apologized for nut trusting me and being overprotective. Please, mom." Ashley stood in front of her mother now. "From the time I was nine, all I've done is study. This is my chance to finally be a kid, too." Her mother didn't say anything, so Ashley continued. "I just want a little balance, but I'll never get that without trust. So, can you please trust me?"

Santina looked at her seriously and Ashley couldn't read her and didn't know what what her mom would say next. "Tomorrow there's a flight back home I've made reservations for. I have two tickets." She paused and started to smile a bit. "But I'll only be using one of them. You can stay."

Victor and Ashley looked at each other in shock, before they smiled happily and hugged Santina. "Ah, I flew Spirit, the tikcets were dirt cheap."

They hugged for a few more seconds before they were scared by a new voice. It was the saleswoman who came home with Victor. "I just finished assembling your new bed upstairs and your niece's bed will be delivered tomorrow." She smiled and quickly made her way to the front door.

"Oh, thank you so much..." Victor paused, thinking about the woman's name fro a few seconds, but he did remember it. "Alexandra!" He exclaimed. Ashley high fived him and Santina chuckled. "You two seem to be getting along rather well. I don't like it."

°

Ashley sat in Pat's and was working on her laptop as Brooke came up to her.

"Ash, I'm sorry I bailed on you yesterday." She started and Ashley looked up from her laptop. "I was a bad Yoda."

"I was a bad Luke!" Ashley replied."How'd the tutoring go, though?" Brooke asked in a teasing voice. "I tried to kiss Tad."

"Oooh!" Brooke said excited.

"But he was horrified."

"Ooh." Brooke winced.

"But I think it was because my Uncle sabotaged me!" Ashley added quickly. "I don't have an ooh for that."

Then, Tad saw the two of them talking and walked over to them. "Hey, Ashley, I never got your contact info! Are you on Instagram?"

"Yeah, I'm on Instagram all the time!" She said enthusiastically. "Great, I'll follow you. Bye!"

As Tad left, Brooke leaned over Ashley's shoulder. "Don't worry, I got you covered, I just signed you up."

**Author's Note:**

> i hope you liked this chapter (and there aren't any major typos)! no big changes so far except some dialogue differences. each chapter is gonna take me very long, so im not gonna update this very regularly


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